The McKendree University student-run newspaper

[Issue 9] Summer Internships: Paying to work for Free?

BY LAUREN APETZ, MEDIA EDITOR

I recently took a summer internship through McKendree to work at a local news station in Orlando, Fl. I loved the idea because I would then be close to home and could enjoy a hot Florida summer, but I became worried when I was told none of my scholarships would cover the cost. I was floored when I learned how much money I had to pay to take a three credit level internship. I had to pay the University $2,000 just to get the internship. I had to pay the two grand just so I could work for free. This system seems a little backwards to me. I get that there has to be a professor “on the job” to oversee our progress to make sure that we are doing the work, but the work I had to do for the professor was not worth $2,000 worth of my time. I had to send in a summary at the end

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of the week about what I did at the internship over the week. Then at the end of the internship I had to write a four page paper about my experience in the workplace. I do not feel like the amount of work that the professor had to do was not worth $2,000 of my money. On top of the money I had to pay the university, I also had to pay money for things like clothes for the internship and money for transportation. These things all add up just so I can go work for free. I do not regret taking this internship at all, though, because I had the best time of my life and made some priceless connections that will help me land my dream job as a sports broadcaster. I think the price for taking an internship over the summer should be dropped drastically. It is hard enough to pay for my schooling semester to semester, so paying for the internship wasn’t the easiest either. If the price of the internship was even closer to $1,000, I wouldn’t have felt so bad. I am honestly just curious as to how me working for someone else is worth me paying $2,000.